


Would You Ever Stay?

by CarlywithaC



Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: "Guy in the Chair" trope, Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Spoilers, Enjoy some Fluff at Least?, F/M, Fluff, Fluff with a side of angst, Gender-Neutral Pronouns, I'm bad at writing I am sorry, I'm late to that train I apologize, I'm not good at titles please forgive me, M/M, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Pre-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Reader-Insert, See summary for Reader backstory, bucky has goats, gender neutral reader, minor hinting at Endgame so I guess I'll tag with, or "Girl in the Chair", so I don't get in trouble
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-04
Updated: 2019-05-04
Packaged: 2020-02-18 13:01:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,179
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18700120
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CarlywithaC/pseuds/CarlywithaC
Summary: You work for the (now ex-) Avengers as a handler/"mission control" and stuck with Steve and the others after Civil War. Finding them safe houses, hotels that don't ask questions, fake IDs, the works so they can stay hidden from the world in plain sight.While visiting Bucky in Wakanda, he asks you a question.





	Would You Ever Stay?

It had been January, though the Wakanda climate was mild, only a light jacket or shawl needed on the occasional breezy day. You had visited him for the umpteenth time, always excited to go both to see him and the beautiful country where he had found peace.

“Do they have names?” you asked as you both sat, looking over the small patch of land he was put in charge of, specifically the goats that were now under his care.

In all his wildest dreams and imaginations, Bucky never thought he’d be the kind of man to have his own goats. _Goats_.

He smiled for a moment, a gleam of pride in his eyes. He took his arm from around your shoulder to point each of them out.

“To start with the girls,” he began, pointing to one of the goats that was standing by the big tree near the pond. “That’s Nobomi, then Themba, Bongani, and Akhona.”

He helped you correctly pronounce all of the names.

“And for the boys?” you asked again, raising an eyebrow. He pointed to another goat and began rattling off more names.

“Over there is Aviwe and Mabhuti, they’re brothers so they stick close, it seems,” Bucky said with a smile and you couldn’t help but smile as well. “Then it’s Lwazi, Silumko, and Fezile.” Again, you repeated the names back to be sure you got the pronunciations right. He laughed a bit as he corrected you but after a few tries you had them all right. “They’re all good kids.” He winked at you at his own joke.

You smiled, especially seeing the pride Bucky had over the little hut and patch of land he was given to take care of. T’Challa had asked if he wanted to move closer to the palace, or somewhere in the city. Bucky politely declined, stating that he needed a simple life for a change. The King understood, though kept the offer open to him.

You put your arm around Bucky’s middle and rested your head on his right shoulder. He let out a sigh and you looked up at him, reaching up and touching a piece of his hair he had let grow out even longer.

“What?” Your tone was slightly teasing as you smiled at him. His face was peaceful, how could it not be in a place like this, but held a seriousness at the same time.

“Would you ever stay?” was all he asked. He didn’t look at you, he just watched two of the goats, you had forgotten which two by now, eating some hay from a bale. You went quiet.

“I want to,” you whispered, playing with the frayed edge of the blue fabric covering Bucky’s left shoulder gently.

“But you won’t,” he said, almost monotone. “It’s ok.” His words did not match his expression in the least.

You sat up and looked at him clearly.

“I want to,” you repeated. “But they need me out there. With the missions they decide to go on, finding them safe places to go, freaking IDs and passports on occasion. They need me too, Bucky. They’re not smart enough.”

You tried to make your last sentence a joke, but got less than half a smile in reply to it.

“I can’t make you,” Bucky conceded immediately. “You have a whole life out in the world. It’s selfish of me to want you to give everything up and stay with me.” You just shook your head.

“I make it seem easy, them being on the move all the time,” you said honestly, your voice slightly strained. “It’s not, it’s really not. It’s really hard. Sometimes I feel like I’ve given everything up just so they can stay together and safe. This isn’t just my job anymore, it’s my _life_.”

“It’s not supposed to be,” Bucky said, wiping a tear from your cheek. “You can’t make that sacrifice when it wasn’t your decision in the first place.”

“I’ve been working with them for so long, I just seemed to fall where they landed I guess. Picking up the puzzle pieces,” you continued.

 _More like shattered glass_ , you thought, but would never say those words out loud.

“I felt maybe, I don’t know, obligated? Like I owed them. They’re still my friends.”

“But you don’t owe them like this,” he said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “You don’t owe them shit, (Y/N). If anyone owes them, it’s me. They wouldn’t be out there fending for themselves if I never showed up.”

“Don’t you dare do that.” Your voice was abrupt and stern as you sat straight up and pointed at him. “And even so, the fact that you are here where Steve knows you are safe means the world and more to him. Trust me on that, James.”

He nodded purposefully.

“Good,” you replied with a smile and settled back down into his side. His arm found its way around your shoulders again.

You both sat there in peace for a while, just watching the goats eat and play. One of them, Nobomi if you remembered correctly, walked up to you and butted your leg gently. You bent down and scratched her chin for a moment and the goat walked away with a new jaunt in her step.

“She likes you,” Bucky said. He looked between you and Nobomi with a small smile on his face. A few more moments of silence passed.

“I want to stay,” you blurted out. “I mean, if T’Challa will have me. I want to stay.” You looked up at Bucky, meeting his eyes. “I can run up some new IDs, safe spots, the works for the team to last them a while. Maybe get someone to take my place. Sharon would be a good option, I’ve stayed in contact with her on a cordial level but I think she’d be trustworthy with this. Or maybe Maria. It would take me a while but I would figure it out.”

“And you’d stay here with me?” Bucky asked. You were so caught up in talking about your plan that you had barely heard his quiet voice.

“Yes,” you said softly, bending down and kissing his cheek. “Then I would stay.”

“Promise?” he asked, holding out his pinky finger. A nod to something you had done in the past that you had said made promises real. You laughed and linked your little finger with his.

“I promise,” you said, resolve in your voice.

 

~

 

You left two days later, with a promise of figuring everything out so that you could return to stay. You were smarter than anyone he knew, save for maybe Shuri. You’d figure it out. He didn’t know them much, but if you, Steve, and the others trusted them, he believed Sharon or the one called Maria would help.

“I’ll be waiting,” he told you as you said goodbye. There were less tears this time, with your promise to come back to him.

 

Turns out that you both would be waiting an awfully long time.

**Author's Note:**

> So as much as I like to picture there being a goat on Wakanda named Stevie, for some reason I see Bucky having goats/choosing more traditional names for the place he lives and the language they speak. They won't be his goats forever. I got the names from the link below.
> 
> https://www.momjunction.com/articles/xhosa-baby-names-with-meanings_00395319/#gref


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